


church addicts

by kosmokuns



Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, Drugs Implied, Homophobia, M/M, Mild Language, and is very british, chine line all speak chinese always, domestic abuse, everyone is british except china line, farming, markhyuck bc why not, oc characters only show up a few times but are Important, okay thats it, they all speak korean thai etc, this is my first fic forgive me, this set in england
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-03-29 14:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kosmokuns/pseuds/kosmokuns
Summary: if one tower grows, another must tumble. if one spire reachs the sky, another must reach the bottom. if one heart is cold, another must be warm.ormark must fight for his life and donghyuck must fight for forgiveness, johnny messes around and people get hurt but they never lose hope





	1. cigarettes and church spires

**Author's Note:**

> this is a pretty decent depiction of my town don't be shocked. don't hate them. i swear i know what i'm doing

Mark leant back on the metal railings and took a long drag from his cigarette, letting the smoke cloud over his head. The metal was cold on his hands and if he stayed there much longer they might freeze but it was better than home; his khaki shorts were sodden and dirty from the rain and mud on the pathways where he had lost his gloves earlier that day. The paving stones beneath his feet were cracked, uneven and home to puddles filled with dirt and stones, to his left was a path that lead down a hill into the field where he had come from and to his right, the 5-minute walk to the train station. Behind his back a church towered over him, the events of the night before flashed through his mind. He sighed and took another drag from his cigarette.

In 2 minutes the boy that had caused all this to start would walk out of the heavy church gates, gripping his hymn book and praying that Mark had made it out in one piece. It was almost comical. One-day Mark was dropping off something nothing less than illegal, the next he was having roast dinner with the vicar’s son and the day after that his body was bruised all over and there were fresh cuts on his face. If you asked Mark what happened he would shrug and say, ‘life happens, it’s not like anyone else is doing anything different’.

Clanging and screeching, the church bells brought Mark out of his reverie. He turned his head and saw the congregation pouring out of the building, his boots hit the ground with a thud as he jumped off the railing and made his way towards the door. He came close enough, so a certain boy would recognise him but not enough so anyone else would, that was how it was and that was how it always would be. He scanned the crowd before seeing the face which he had come to know so well, the boy recognised him, and a smile covered his face. The boy ran towards Mark with a yell and threw his arms around Mark’s battered body,

“I didn’t think you’d make it this time,” He said as he sobbed into Mark’s neck,

“I’m so glad you have so much faith in me,” He giggled through his sobs and looked up into Mark’s eyes, the taller boy’s heart skipped a beat and he pulled the shorter closer to him. When the shorter boy finally let go, he took his hand in his and began to walk towards the town. Mark dropped the cigarette and let it go out in one of the many puddles. Neither of them said anything, it was a comfortable silence and the things they talked about weren’t things they wanted being overheard by an elderly Christian couple.

After 10 minutes they were standing outside a local café debating whether it was a safe place for Mark to go in,

“Hyuckie, I’m sure it’s fine,” Mark sighed, most of his bruises were covered, his cuts were healing, and he didn’t smell of alcohol or weed,

“Mark, I don’t want to have to leave my extremely over-priced latte because of your hygiene issues,” ‘Hyuckie’ pouted and Mark was close to giving in, but it wasn’t over yet,

“Donghyuck, it’ll be fine, I managed to have a shower before I left this morning and I’ll pay,” He gave Donghyuck a winning smile and the shorter boy gave in,

“Fine, but I get whatever I want off the menu,” Mark nodded his head and Donghyuck dragged them both in.

In the end, Donghyuck chose a hazelnut hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and Mark had a chamomile tea to make sure he didn’t get ill from being outside in the cold.

Mark pulled out his wallet and handed £5 over to the barista who was sporting a concerned expression when Donghyuck put his hands in the pockets of Mark’s hoodie from behind. Thanking the barista maybe a bit to sarcastically, they took their drinks and sat at a table at the back of the café.

Cuddling up to Mark’s side, Donghyuck inhaled the boy’s scent, a mix of sweat and cheap deodorant, he would never change it for the world. He picked up his mug and took a small sip, being careful not to spill anything on his smart, grey trousers. The taller boy circled his arms around Donghyuck’s waist and let out a sigh of relief, time was limited, they both knew it and any chance to be together was taken gratefully.

“You know, I might be able to stay till the end of this year, I might even make it to August,” Mark said softly, his voice lilting slightly, showing his ‘country boy accent’ how Donghyuck described it. Donghyuck stopped dead, he slowly turned his head up to meet Mark’s expectant eyes,

“Whatever—whatever you need to do, do it quickly, please, if you stay we both know the risks,” Donghyuck whispered, he didn’t want Mark to get involved in stuff that would crush a chance at a better future. Mark shuffled the younger boy around, so he could look him straight in the eyes. The boy’s eyes were deep and chestnut, some may call them dull, but to Mark they were the key to Neverland,

“Johnny’s coming, he’s got ‘unfinished business’ with Sehun or some shit, I reckon I could crash with him, he’s probably just going to bang Ten, try to mess up Dad’s crops and steal his booze,” Mark switched into Korean with ease nowadays, he spoke it fluently, but after there wasn’t anyone to talk to it in at home anymore he lost it a bit. Of course, Donghyuck was once again the reason to speak it again.

“Listen to you, ‘try to mess up Dad’s crops’, now you know why I call you country boy,” Donghyuck teased with a sly smile as his hands inched nearer Mark,

“Oh no, oh no you don’t,” Mark panicked and chucked himself backwards on the sofa. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, and he got attacked with force, a loud giggle escaped his mouth as Donghyuck tickled him.

They kept this up for a good 5 minutes, until Donghyuck was too tired and Mark couldn’t breathe. The cushions had been discarded onto the floor along with Donghyuck’s crimson scarf and bobble hat. It was a far stretch from the conversation they just had, but what can you say, they’re just teenagers trying to have fun.

“Seriously though, Johnny’s not changing phone numbers every 5 minutes these days, it would be easy to find out where he is and stay with him,” Mark said leaning back, away from Donghyuck. The younger boy sighed, this was a battle he couldn’t win, however much Mark listened to him sometimes, this was not asking, this was confirming.

“Fine, but I still don’t like Johnny, and if Sehun’s involved I like him even less. If Ten’s in town, that means Lucas is here and if Lucas is here Jungwoo’s here as well which means Doyoung is on the way,” Donghyuck glanced up towards Mark and saw him nodding to what he said, “Stay at college, lie low, we don’t want a repeat of last year.” Mark moved back to next to Donghyuck and slid his arm round his waist and muttered an ‘of course’ in his ear then snuggled up to his side.


	2. rain fills the silence of the gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny shows up and hasn't messed shit up yet, it's not long though. Mark gets wet and christians should know which number book of the bible the 2nd book of samuel is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos

Mark pulled up his hoodie as it started to rain. Running, running, running, if he wasn’t back in 5 minutes there would be an awful

thing waiting for him, he had to make it back. The water on the footpath sprayed up onto his tracksuit but he kept running, the prospect of being out of the house in within a week excited him, made him faster, gave him hope. The dingy, rotting house would be a memory, although he wouldn’t experience much better with Johnny. Nothing was new in this town, there was only less old. He kept going, faster and faster until his breath was out of time and his blood pounding through his body. His thoughts flowed in and out of his head like waves by the sea- Donghyuck, Johnny, back to Donghyuck, Lucas, _Dad._

 

Coming into view, the farmhouse was getting ever closer. It was not an ideal, pretty house, it was dark and damp, some of the windows were boarded up, the front door had been kicked in one to many times and was barely on its hinges, the curtains hung lifeless and the concrete path towards it was broken and loose. Maybe it was a metaphor of his life, Mark didn’t know, maybe in another place he would take English and be able to explain these things. His feet hit the concrete and he almost lost balance, almost, he checked his watch _8:01._

_Shit, shit, shit,_ Mark thought, _he better be running late._

The door was before him, he could turn and run, or he could open the door and get shanked. By now he didn’t give a shit, he was cold, Brits don’t like to be cold, maybe running blood could warm him up. Without hesitation he flung open the door and stepped into the house with a bang, echoing around the house.

“What the fuck was that,” A gruff voice came from the kitchen, like Mark’s it lilted and dropped letters, “It better not be Logan, I told him to piss off,” The voice came again and the sound of boots on linoleum filled Mark’s ears.

A tall man strode out of the kitchen, he had a beard growing on his chin and matted hair on his head. His jacket was dark green and clung to his arms as they filled it out, he had cruddy black jeans on that were covered in a mixture of mud and manure. Mark pulled up on his legs and held his chin high,

“Well, finally decided to come back, have you?” The man sneered mockingly,

“I was gone for a day, this isn’t a bad American drama,” Mark said, shrugging his shoulders and moving to go past him. The taller man grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks,

“NO SON OF MINE WILL TALK TO ME LIKE THAT,” The man roared, fire and anger starting to enter his blood stream, “APOLOGISE IMMEDIATELY,” Mark muttered a sorry then tried to break free of his hold. His Dad had other plans. He threw Mark back and Mark’s shoulder hit the crumbling wall with a thud, he fell to the ground. Moving quickly, his Dad came in front of him and kicked him hard in his stomach, then in his knee. The rain was pouring in through the open door, soaking the hallway. A fist connected with Mark’s jaw and the younger boy groaned in pain,

“NO SON OF MINE WILL BE A WEAK FAIRY LIKE YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” His bellows reached Mark’s ears and sent trembles through the house, Mark nods,

“Yes sir, I will not be weak,” Another fist to his stomach, he could feel liquid dripping down his neck, he must be bleeding. He looks down and sees crimson spreading down his neck, below his t-shirt as fast as trains through a train station. His father moves away from him, seemingly satisfied,

“Get out,” He said, dangerously quiet, again Mark nods and scrambles off the floor to the door. He takes one last fleeting glance backwards, but his father had already disappeared into the swathes of the house.

 

* * *

 

A sleek, black car pulls up outside a tired, semi-detached house, quiet as a mouse. In the front sat only a man with greased, combed hair and a dark, pressed suit. The dark clouds hung over head, threatening, warning of what was coming. It did not bother the occupants of the car, they would stay inside, out of sight. Behind the driver sat two men, one had long legs and thick thighs, he wore a beige turtleneck top and a black blazer with black chinos, his black hair was styled sideways, gelled to perfection, the other was slightly shorter, had pale skin and penetrating azure eyes that flitted around, he wore casual jeans with a black t-shirt tucked in and a blue blazer matching his eyes. The brands were not too expensive, but enough to make an impression in this town.

The taller one got out and stepped onto the pavement, he looked at it in disgust, glaring at it.  However, he continued up some paving stones to the front door of a house that had long since lost its beauty, white paint was peeling off and mouldy, a flimsy plastic door had replaced a previously oak one. The man took out a key and slotted it into the lock, it turned, clicked and the door sprung open, he stepped in.

The inside was a contrast to the sorry exterior, it was freshly painted a refreshing sky blue and the carpets were clean and the banisters and window sills free of dust. The man followed the hallway to an open plan kitchen, it had an island in the centre, plenty of cupboard space and a huge fridge-freezer filled to the brim with fresh food and drinks.

“Logan, come in, get setup,” The man calls out and Logan comes into the house. His blue eyes zone in to the island and he places down a laptop carefully, making sure it doesn’t bend or get dropped, the taller man rolls his eyes and leaves the room. He travels upstairs and sees that all 3 bedrooms were perfectly made up with stacks of fluffy towels at the end of every bed and white sheets spread without a wrinkle. Perfect. He pulls a phone out of his pocket and punches in a number, he hadn’t saved any numbers, that was a risk he was not willing to take. It rang three times until a voice called out hello,

“This is Seo, the raven has reached the nest and the fox is stealing the eggs,” He speaks clearly and loudly showing no tone or emotion in his voice,

“Received, 2nd Book of Samuel is moving towards Nazareth,” The line goes dead, the man pockets his phone, he lets out a contented sigh then goes back downstairs.

The microwave turns and whirrs into life with a curry on the inside. Sainsburys curries are magic, someone once said, they can change a life. After about a minute, a rap comes on the door and a muffled voice shouts,

“Johnny, I know you’re in there, it’s Mark, I need you to let me in,” Johnny checks the time on the microwave, nods at Logan and opens the door for Mark. The younger boy is drenched and his hair sticks to his forehead, his breath is coming out in short, sharp pants as if he had just won a sprint. The blood on his jaw is starting to dry, becoming a brown colour and his knees are blackening fast,

“Mark you look like a piece of shit, do you want a cup of tea?” Johnny asks as the boy walks into the house, his trainers leaving muddy imprints in the carpet, the taller boy cringes,

“Yeah that’d be great, sorry about your carpet mate,” Johnny waves it off and they both enter the kitchen. Mark gives a curt nod to Logan and leans against a counter opposite Johnny as he gets the curry out of the microwave and boils the kettle, he reaches for two mugs from a cupboard above his head, puts them on the counter and drops in a tea bag into each. The kettle boils and he pours the water into each cup, letting the tea brew while he serves the curry into two china bowls, he pushes one towards Mark with a spoon, takes the tea bag out of the mug and starts to pour the milk,

“Say when,” he says and Mark replies with a ‘when’. They both take the curry and tea to the table and sit down to eat in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i know mark is dumb :)) johnny isn't a mob boss... yet


	3. speed = distance divided by time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mark gets to class on time, donghyuck becomes a human battering ram and jaemin and hina become points of interest

The next morning the clouds were still hanging over the town, causing a downcast, grey feel among it’s occupants. Monday mornings had given them enough reason to be gloomy let alone the miserable English weather. Puddles had filled the potholes in the road overnight and lawns had turned into greenish, stagnant bogs like the marshes towards Mark’s house.

It was 6:30 in the morning when the first resident pulled off his duvet and made his way down the cream staircase. Logan, Logan Marsden, was his name. 19 years old, fresh out of college with 3 A levels in Economics, Computer Science and Maths, all A*’s and offers from top universities around the country. That wasn’t his talent though, give him a computer and you could have any file from any government agency within your hands in minutes. It may not be within the law, but he never left a trace.

Cautiously, he made his way into the kitchen, it was how it had been left the night before. Dishes were stacked neatly on the drying rack and the empty curry packet had been separated into the recycling and rubbish bins. Letting out a breath, the man stalked over to the counter to boil the kettle, afterwards he pulled a packet of muesli out of the cupboard to his right and poured it into a bowl, adding the milk last. The kettle boiled, he let it fill his cup of peppermint tea and sat down opposite the island on the table.

“Morning Logan,” A crisp voice came from the doorway, it was Johnny. He was wearing black jogging bottoms and a white t-shirt that had a small logo near the bottom, on his feet were white Nike sport socks, “Still water left in the kettle?” Logan nodded, and Johnny preceded to make himself a breakfast of toast with his mother’s strawberry jam and coffee.

10 minutes later, Mark appeared, his hair mussed, and his eyes glazed over with sleep. Logan barely registered he had arrived in the room, keeping his eyes trained on his muesli while Johnny offered a wave to which Mark grunted in return. Like the others he sorted himself a breakfast, wolfed it down and left. Typical Mark, Johnny thought.

After Mark left the room, he tiptoed up the carpeted stairs into his bedroom. It was clean and neat, ordered like one’s you’d find in a decent hotel. Two white, fluffy towels had been placed on top of one another on the dresser and small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel had been put in a wicker basket to it’s right. Mark grimaced, he had stayed at Johnny’s house before, but he could never get used to the fact that it was designed to make it easy to pick up leave without a trace. There had always been that feeling hanging around Johnny, like a bad odour or dark cloud, an air of mystery mixed with something darker. Whatever it was, it attracted people like him and Ten with no difficulty.

Grabbing the products and a towel, he headed to the bath room to have a shower. The water washed over his body, cleansing dried dirt from the cracks in his skin and exposing the yellowing bruises hidden beneath his tops. He didn’t look at them. He ignored them. He rubbed lemon verbena shower gel over them and pretended it didn’t hurt when his fingers ran over fresh cuts.

“Mate, you good in there?” Johnny’s voice came clear through the flimsy door of the room,

“Yeah, what’s the time?” Mark replied, cursing himself silently for taking so long,

“It’s 8:45, you’re going to have to hurry if you want to make Physics or whatever shit you put yourself through on Monday mornings,” He heard Johnny pad back along the corridor and stepped out of the shower, quickly drying himself with a towel, then pulling on black jeans, a white t-shirt and a hoodie that read ‘ice it 1984’ along the width of his shoulders on the back. It was something Donghyuck would wear on the days he had no church meetings, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

5 minutes later, Mark was sprinting down the high street of the measly town, the café he visited with Donghyuck that weekend whizzing past on his left. He kept going as fast as he could, taking a few shortcuts over the park and down some alleyways till he reached the front glass door of his college: ‘St. Peter’s Sixth Form College’. The sign was white, and the words outlined in navy blue with the logo of the school on the top right, a church spire with two keys crossing over in the doorway, and the school motto below it ‘ _C_ _ulpam poena premit comes’._

The boy rushed towards his form room almost tripping over some prospective parents, muttering a quick sorry to them after they shot him a dirty look. His teacher sat behind the fake wood desk with his feet perched on top of it, his monotone voice was calling the register as usual. _Thank God_ , Mark thought, he wasn’t late. Swiftly, he marched into the classroom and slid into a desk next to a small Chinese boy who’s name he thought might be Renjun, and by the look in the boy opposite him’s eye, it probably was.

“Mark, our favourite late kid,” a low snicker ran through the classroom and if it was anyone else they would have been embarrassed but Mark lifted his head and said,

“Yes, sir,” a smirk played on his lips and Renjun rolled his eyes and let out a sigh,

“Mark, you made it on time today, and you’re wearing a new outfit and washed your hair, I assume Johnny’s in town then,” Mark knew he wasn’t saying it maliciously like other teachers would, but his jaw still tightened at the sound of his half-brother’s name,

“Yes, he is sir,” The teacher nodded a few times and then replied,

“Say hi to him for me,” He continued with the register till he reached the last name, which happened to be the boy who was staring at him from the opposite side of the table, ‘Chenle’. Realising he had accidentally managed to sit with the Chinese boys, Mark said sorry to them and proceeded to leave for his first lesson- Physics.

Physics was boring, most subjects were boring to Mark, but Physics lost its charm after the first year. Nowadays they weren’t learning anything new, just revising for the A-Level exams they would take in the summer, and Mark’s ex would constantly glare at him, once causing her to electrocute herself to which Mark laughed for hours. He would probably glare at her too if he cared enough.

Today, his teacher was revising momentum and gravitational field strength, he drawled through the lesson, opening and closing his textbook, pointing out various equations they would have to memorise. Mark sat on the back bench, next to a boy with a huge, glowing smile and brown hair that would fall into his eyes every time he looked down. He barely remembered him. In secondary school, he thought they might have been friends, he vaguely remembers an afternoon sitting high up in the trees near Mark’s house.

Licking blue bubble-gum ice lollies that stained their tongues and laughing at jokes he made about their maths teacher, he remembered the boy imitating said teacher and talking about a problem involving the speed of trains that neither of them could understand. The hair on the boy’s head was shining with the hot British sun that was beating down for the one day a year it showed itself. The last thing he remembered from that day was the boy whispering in his ear and telling him his darkest secret, the confession he had been hiding from everyone. He was gay, and to this day Mark still remembered his reply, ‘you can’t change who you are, but here isn’t forgiving, be careful Jaemin, you never know who’s listening’. He doesn’t remember anything else, he thinks they might’ve stopped being friends after Jaemin went back to Korea for a year and didn’t bother texting Mark once.

After the lesson, Mark strolled out of the classroom, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, almost hitting some Chinese kid with it. As soon as he left the classroom, he saw a mop of red hair barrelling down the hallway to meet him, he didn’t have anytime to prepare himself before the boy slammed into him and wrapped his arms around Mark’s waist,

“Donghyuck, what did I say about collisions in the corridor,” Mark said sternly and Donghyuck pouted, jutting out his heart shaped bottom lip,

“But Markie,” He started, but the older boy had already picked him up bridal style and was carrying him towards the boy’s form room, “PUT ME DOWN,” Donghyuck screamed. Mark chuckled but refused to put him down,

“Hyuckie, shut up, I’m doing you a favour,” Donghyuck pouted again and Mark couldn’t resist pecking his lips,

“Doing me a favour, of course, having the whole corridor staring at me is an enormous favour,”

“I thought you said you loved attention,” That time Mark got punched, albeit feebly, by the little summer boy in his arms. The boy Mark worked out to be Jaemin tutted as he pushed past them, holding hands with a pretty Japanese girl with cat-like eyes, “Donghyuck, what do you know about Na Jaemin?” Mark asked, genuinely curious, Donghyuck knew everything about everyone,

“Same age as me, lived in Korea for 4 years when he was young but moved back for a year when he was 14, Dad’s British and is an RAF pilot, Mum’s an ex-model, ideal family kind of set up, dating Hina Nakamura, was involved in drama with the Chinese kids last year,” Donghyuck recited as if he was Jaemin’s best friend, “Why?” Mark sighed and put Donghyuck down, linking their hands,

“He used to be one of my close friends I think, also pretty sure he’s not straight,” Mark said drily, “He told me he was gay the day before he moved back to Korea,” Donghyuck did not look surprised.

“That would explain the drama with the Chinese kids, Renjun’s gay and Chenle’s his sidekick, Lucas is friends with them as well,” Mark nodded, and they entered Donghyuck’s form room.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back lol, sorry this took so long, it's longer than usual. this was pretty boring i know but please stick around!! there are still lots of cliffhangers and im not giving anything away
> 
> once again feedback is welcomed along with constructive criticism, thank you for the kudos as well, it always makes my day  
> i'd like to give a shout out to gaia and tina i love you guys <3


	4. new lambs are stronger than an old sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not all lambs follow the flock, some get lost and end up on rocky outcrops by themselves.

In the form room, there was a tall boy with floppy brown hair lounging on one of the tables. His extortionately long legs were draped over a chair and he was leaning back on his hands, giving the girls lazy half smiles. Donghyuck stopped dead. He gripped Mark’s hands tightly and tried to take small steps back out of the room back the boy had already spotted him,

“ _Lee Donghyuck, what a pleasure to see you again,”_ The boy drawled in Korean, sending him a knowing smirk,

“There was a vicious rumour going around you were back here, got kicked out of your step dad’s house again?” Donghyuck said in a bored tone. The taller boy’s face hardened into a dangerous scowl as he looked Donghyuck in the eyes,

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t, I came to see your boyfriend’s brother,” He replied to Donghyuck, getting off the table,

“Half-brother Lucas, you of all people should know that,” Mark stepped into the room and crossed his arms, putting his weight on one leg, “What do you want,” He looked Lucas up and down, taking him in, sizing him up,

“I just need a small favour from Johnny,” He says innocently, and Mark could almost see the boy he knew years ago, small and bubbly, funny and unspoilt,

“He doesn’t do favours anymore, he’s employed properly and he’s not risking his job, he’s only here for Sehun anyway,” Mark replied, keeping at least 2 metres between him and Lucas,

“Come on Mark, we both know that isn’t true, my step brother’s here, that’s why he’s here,” Lucas drawled again, a bored look on his face,

“Ten stays out of this,” Donghyuck pipes up, coming to stand directly beside Mark and taking his hand, Mark nods,

“Get out of here, do whatever you need to do and leave, if you want a favour ask me,” Mark gritted his teeth, looking very unimpressed by Lucas’s preposition,

“Fine Mark,” The glint in his eye was growing and neither boy liked it one bit, “I need to get hold of the China Sheep, I know he’s here, I’ve seen his trace and the Cantonese legion are very unsettled by some of his movements, they just want to know what’s going on.”

Donghyuck’s face twisted in terror. Leading up to the biggest Chinese festival in the year, every legion of the Flock of China would pledge allegiance to the China Sheep and hand over their services for another year. The strongest legion by far was the Cantonese one and if they didn’t pledge their allegiance that would mean they would be able to overthrow the current Sheep who had kept the peace within the Flock for years. Images of blood running down the gutters of streets in urban Hong Kong and families hiding in boats down the Yangtze river, fearing for their lives filled the young boy’s mind,

“The Sheep is of no concern to us, we do not get involved with Chinese gangs anymore,” Mark turned to walk out the room dragging Donghyuck with him, the younger boy gave one last glance towards Lucas, who was back to lounging on the tables, and sent him a penetrating glare then followed Mark.

As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, Mark collapsed down the wall and put his head in his hands. He was tired, tired of waiting, tired of fighting, tired of everything. He thought he left the groping hands of the Flock behind when he wandered into a church 2 years ago, seeking forgiveness and redemption. People carried on walking past them whilst Donghyuck squatted down before him and pulled him up off the ground,

 _“Mark, it’s not your fault he’s back, he’s obviously been looking for Johnny over these past years, it was inevitable that he would find him,”_ Donghyuck said in a low voice, he rarely used Korean to communicate, mainly using it in text messages but now it was necessary,

 _“What if the Cantonese legion does take over? Chenle and Renjun would both be done for, so would Kun, they could face persecution by their own people!”_ Mark semi-shouts it, no one can understand him, (although the look Jeno Lee gives him as he walks past makes him question that), _“we have to warn Johnny, isn’t it part of his job to deal with stuff like this?”_

_“Lucas is only a messenger, we won’t know it’s serious till people higher up come here, don’t lose sleep over it,”_

The two boys made their way home after the incident with Lucas, neither felt like they would be able to concentrate in class anyway. Once inside Donghyuck’s house, Mark plopped himself down on a stall at the breakfast bar whilst Donghyuck made them something to eat, probably some healthy shit you would never find in a Sainsburys meal deal. From behind him Mark studied Donghyuck’s frame, the gentle curve of his shoulders and his almost muscular arms from holding a hymn book for hours on end, down across his back to the boy’s hips, pretty hips, Mark thought, pretty for a boy, nice and shapely but still cute, and no, now he was absolutely not staring at the boy’s ass, again Mark’s brain betrayed him as he pictured the time they had a shower together, supplying him with a picture of that ass.

“Are you staring at my ass, Mark Lee?” Donghyuck exclaimed in an accusatory tone, sounding shocked,

“It’s cute,” Mark said nonchalantly, well, he tried, his face was burning as red as the slow trains on south west railway, actually it wasn’t the south west railway anymore, it was south western rail,

“Is it the only part of me that’s cute,” The younger boy turned around, his face in his palms, leaning on the counter, sporting a teasing grin,

“Hmm, there’s one other part I think is cute,” Mark said, returning the grin, albeit a slightly creepier version,

“Oh really? Which part is it,”

Mark replied by grabbing the boy’s neck and pulling him in for a chaste kiss before letting go with a smirk, Donghyuck pouted and whined and Mark laughed like the tinkling of water in the streams in the mountain and pulled him in again. This time their lips moved against each other, perfectly moulding to each other as Donghyuck climbed onto the counter to get closer to the other boy.  They still didn’t stop kissing. Mark lightly nibbled on the younger boy’s bottom lip and when he opened his mouth and as Mark’s tongue slid in he let out a breathy moan. Just as Mark’s hands snaked around Donghyuck’s waist, intending to pull him into his lap, the doorbell rang. A sharp, shrill sound resonated around them and the two boys quickly let go of each other,

“Do you think we look like we were making out?” Mark asked worriedly, running a hand through his hair,

“You definitely make it look like we were making out,” Donghyuck chuckled. Mark’s eyes were glazed, and his lips were swollen, raw and red,

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back again!! im really excited for this chapter because it's very key. hate lucas all you want, he's mostly an asshole in this fic
> 
> i love you!
> 
> greta xx


	5. kiss the feet of the devil and hold out your sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some chinese characters show up and mark reminices about taeyong

There was a sharp scraping sound as keys turned in the lock of the house, the boys heard a quiet curse as the person struggled to get it all the way around and an almost silent giggle came out from another voice outside. Eventually, the door creaked open and the people stepped in, well, Donghyuck wasn’t sure if you could call it stepping.

Creeping towards the door of the kitchen, Mark and Donghyuck took minuscule, soundless steps across the tiles. When they reached the door, they opened it just enough to be able to peak into the hall. One of the boys was Donghyuck’s older brother and another was Lee Taeyong, the boy who had pulled Mark out of far too many sticky situations (some of them might have involved a black eye and a thick wad of £20 notes). Donghyuck’s older brother had Taeyong pressed up against the wall and his fingers gliding underneath his shirt as he pressed open-mouth kisses on Taeyong’s neck. Taeyong’s head was thrown backwards in pleasure and his hair was falling all over his face.

“Mhmph,” Donghyuck’s cleared his throat and threw open the door. The two older boys looked like rabbits caught in the headlights when Donghyuck gave them a glare of a life time, “And I thought I was the gay one,” Mark tried to hold back his laughter when Jaehyun’s ears turned a rich crimson,

“Sorry you had to see that Hyuckie, we’ll be going upstairs,” He looked at Taeyong uncertainly and the older boy rolled his eyes then dragged Jaehyun up the stairs by the collar of his t-shirt.

Bursting out in an unruly laughing fit, Mark leant against the wall for support as he completely lost it, Donghyuck did the same and they were both falling over each other laughing,

“I’ve never seen Jaehyun look so guilty,” Donghyuck said between wiping tears from his eyes, Mark tried to stop laughing by slowly exhaling but it didn’t work and they both ended up giggling more, “do you think they noticed,” he continued.

“Jaehyun, definitely not, Taeyong though? He probably knew as soon as you opened the door. That man has eyes like a hawk,” Mark stated,

“They looked pretty glazed to me, I don’t know about you but…”

The couple collapsed back into laughing at the slightly lewd comment made by Donghyuck.

 

*                                                *                                                 *

 

 

“You brought it?” An astonished voice came from a small man leaning on the grimy wall of an alleyway. The night was deathly dark, and his features were covered by the blanket of midnight.

“I’m not an idiot, I know the risks if I didn’t,” A relaxed voice replied from the other side of the alley, he was taller and, like a chameleon, blended in to the rough bricks. Handing over an envelope, their hands brushed for a fraction and the taller man could feel the icy steel hands of the shorter man.

“Smart kid, we could use someone like you,” The shorter man said whilst checking the contents of the envelope, he thumbed his way through it thoroughly. The taller man responded as he was doing this,

“Unfortunately, though, I belong under somebody else’s legion, I’m sure you know that sir,” The smaller man’s eyes flicked up towards him and looked over his face searching for any signs of disrespect then gave a firm nod

“Oh, don’t worry, I do, and I want to join you, The Sheep has been around for too long we want to change that,”

“Of course, you do; but I’m not about to risk my legion for an apologetic, unneeded little legion like yours,”

“As you wish, keep smart kid, _be greeted by the warmth of the wool of another,”_

_“and take your flock to the tallest mountain.”_

The tall man stepped out of the shadows of the alley way, his eyes scanned left, right, before stealthily moving across the road. The hazy moonlight carelessly directed itself over parked cars and lampposts- all of which were off because of budget cuts, the man could see perfectly fine. His chocolate eyes were adjusted to a low-lit, dingy sort of gloom, this was only different because of the fresh, clean British air cooling the night around him. His elongated shadow stalked down the pavement, his arrogant footsteps echoing around the terraced houses beside him.

A few minutes after he had disappeared, the shorter man hurried out of the alley, clutching a thick envelope. He seemed skittish, throwing glances over the street, barely checking for any sign of danger. After a few minutes a car pulled up alongside him and the door was opened, the man hopped into the back and the car sped off into the night.

“He kept his word?” A deep voice said from the front. Still panting, the man waited a few minutes before answering,

“He did, I told you he would, and he doesn’t want us to join them, it’s typical of that legion,” The inside of the car was sleek and minimalist, it was spotless and had enough space for a table between two seats in the back and a thick divider, separating the passengers and the driver.

“I wasn’t expecting anything less, Kun, especially that boy, he’s caused too many problems for that legion,” Kun leant back, contemplating, his legs were crossed under the table as they sped out past fields and the occasional farm house. They were far over the speed limit, 40 miles an hour was for old women in citroëns whose husbands died 4 years ago.

“He’s good at his job though, elusive, hard to find, he’s what that legion needs,” Kun replied, his voice light. The other man glanced over his features, he was a soft looking boy when he was younger, but time had changed him and now he had a prominent jawline and mystical chestnut eyes that gave away no secrets. Kun lead a tight organisation that brought love and necessity together, it was an odd duo but when you could shoot someone and then go and cook dinner for your family unscathed, it wasn’t difficult.

“He’s a mirror image of a younger Jackson, he’ll come to the same choice that boy did and then we’ll see his true colours,” The other man had thick glasses placed delicately on his nose and defined features that could draw girls and boys alike, his suit was fitted well, in an almost erotic way that was edging towards the line of perfection.

“We’ll see.”

 

*                                              *                                                   *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait! i have a nomin au that's much longer than this coming soon hopefully and also a short markhyuck one shot as well.
> 
> thank you all for reading, your comments and kudos always make me smile. keep being wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! comments are welcome as well as constructive criticism. i will have more soon i promise!! yell at me on twitter @jisungdropthat


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